Sweet Dreams
by Zodiac32
Summary: Just a little Halloween oneshot. Nick and Greg take their niece and nephew trick or treating, which leads to talk of future prospects.


Disclaimer: Do you own CSI? Neither do I. Sucks, huh? That would be the responsibility of CBS and their affiliates. Damn TPTB...

* * *

"Bye mama!"

"Oh, bye-bye, sweetie," Marissa Bradford, formerly Stokes, cooed as she scooped her three-year old daughter into her arms for a bear hug. "You be good for Uncle Nicky and Uncle Greg, okay?"

The little girl nodded her head vigorously, making the pale yellow ears on her Care Bears costume flap back and forth in a comical manner. "I go twick-or-tweating!" Winny exclaimed, and held up her plastic jack-o-latern candy collector with excitement, making everyone in the room smile at the adorable sight.

Everyone in the room, that is, except for her big brother, DJ.

"Trick-or-treating is stupid, mom!" he whined from his place on the stairs near the kitchen door of Nick and Greg's house. "It's such a little kid thing." The 10-year-old huffed.

"Aw, c'mon, buddy. It'll be fun." Nick interjected, taking Winny from his sister's arms and resting the little bundle of energy on his hip. It always gave him such a feeling of fatherly warmth every time he held the dark-haired child; her cute babyish giggle and the way she squirmed every which way when he went to tickle her made his smile grow wider and wider each time. "Think of how much candy you'll get. It's a big neighborhood out there."

"Candy!" Winny squealed, throwing her arms around her Uncle Nicky's neck.

"You be good for your uncles, young man." Marissa indicated to her son with a finger, but her smile betrayed her tone as she drew the sulking boy into a hug.

DJ sighed in defeat and hugged her back. "Yes, ma'am." he mumbled into her chestnut brown hair.

It was a rare occasion for Nick's sister and brother-in-law to visit all the way from Texas, but it was an even rarer occasion when they brought their two children with them on the long trip. But this time, since Dominic was in Vegas for a business conference, which was being held not too far from Nick and Greg's house, he thought it would be a nice treat to bring Marissa, DJ, and Winny along for the ride. Nick was immediately taken with the idea and offered to house the Bradford clan for the endurance of their trip.

"Guys, thanks so much for watching the kids tonight, _and _taking them out trick-or-treating. I really can't thank you enough," Marissa smiled at her brother and his partner. "Dominic and I hardly ever have any time for ourselves anymore…"

"Say no more sis, we're happy to oblige." Nick grinned, leaning in to set a peck to his sister's cheek.

"Yeah, have a nice dinner." Greg waggled his eyebrows from behind Nick, setting a hand on his partner's shoulder. "And don't forget _dessert_."

The Texan woman giggled into her hand, unable to remember the last time she and her husband had some real alone time. There was always something around the house to do, it seemed like she was always picking up after the kids, feeding the kids, playing with them, bathing them… but as was the life of a stay at home mom. And she wouldn't have it any other way. But with her husband always working and herself always doing mommy duty, they never got to just sit back and enjoy a romantic meal together anymore.

"We'll see, we'll see. Thanks for the encouragement, Greg." The Texan mother said, giving each of her children a final good-bye hug and kiss. "Alright, you two, have fun tonight and get lots of candy, and remember to be polite! Oh, you look so cute in your costumes. You too, kids." she winked.

"Har-har." Nick smiled sarcastically from where he stood in his makeshift pirate costume, complete with eyepatch, hat and sword; Greg decided to re-wear one of his tamer outfits of Halloweens past and dressed as a rockstar; fuzzy, purple mohawk wig and wrist bands included. "Get outta here already, you're gonna be late."

Marissa turned and in a flash was out the door to meet her husband at the expensive restaurant he'd picked out for dinner and dancing that evening; something she'd been looking forward to all day. It was lucky that Nick and Greg were so adamant about taking the kids out for Halloween because being in Las Vegas, she'd had no other babysitting options.

"Okay, Deej," Greg started, turning to his nephew and making the 'rock on' sign with both hands. "You so totally need to go put your costume on, man. We're leaving in, like five minutes. Cool?"

The once sullen 10-year-old's blue eyes lit up at his Uncle Greg's goofy antics, but just as suddenly a frown appeared across his face and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Can't. I accidentally spilled some… blue stuff on it. It's all stained up."

"Oooh, it was an _accident_, huh? I gotcha." The youngest CSI smiled knowingly at the little boy, which quickly made a smirk appear on DJ's face. "C'mon. Let's see what we got upstairs for you to wear, okay? I'm sure we can find something so totally righteous!."

DJ giggled and followed Greg up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

-- -- --

When the dastardly duo came back downstairs, they found Nick and Winny sitting on the family room sofa; Winny was squealing with excitement as she tried to steal her uncle's pirate hat, but Nick was too quick and pulled back just as it came within his giggly niece's reach.

"Wow, you look really cool, DJ." Nick stated, looking up as he heard footsteps approaching the couch. "Lemme guess… you're a crazy, psycho Doctor?"

"Close. I'm a… mad scientist!" The boy said, lowering his voice into a scary tone on the last two words and holding up his rubber gloved hands while wiggling his fingers back and forth.

"Scawy, DJ!" Winny squealed and covered her eyes with tiny hands.

Nick and Greg exchanged amused looks and Greg went to pick up the frightened little girl from her place on Nick's lap. DJ laughed and tried to comfort his baby sister by showing her it was still him under the silly 'blood' stained lab coat and black scuba goggles. "It's okay, Winny. It's just me." he whispered softly.

"You did good, G." Nick grinned to his partner.

"I tried to convince him to be an ultra cool Forensic DNA analyst but he wasn't havin' it." Greg laughed at the memory of DJ finding the goggles, lab coat, and rubber gloves in the upstairs closet. "He was adamant. Mad Scientist or nothing."

"Well, the boy's got a mind of his own. Just like his uncle." Nick grinned before setting a quick, discreet kiss to Greg's cheek. They were both aware that neither Marissa or her husband, Dominic, had any problems with them being affectionate in front of their children, but to Nick, it still felt a little strange.

Greg smirked in his partner's direction before turning back to Winny and DJ, who were still babbling to each other in their sibling speak. "Okay, kids, grab your bags and let's go get some candy!"

-- -- --

"Twick-or-tweat!" Winny exclaimed as the door to the first house opened. An elderly woman with stark white hair and thick framed glasses appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a nightgown and slippers, a huge bowl of various kinds of candy in her wrinkled hands. At her feet sat a furry, black cat; his fuzzy tail swishing back and forth diligently.

"Good evening, Mrs. Thompson." Nick greeted the sweet, old lady.

"Oh, Heavens to Betsy! Is that Nicholas and Gregory?" Mrs. Thompson asked, exposing her warm eyes and kind, snaggletooth grin. "How wonderful of you to be taking your children out on such a fine, Halloween night! This little one looks just like you, Nicholas." the old woman indicated to the little girl perched dutifully on her uncle's hip.

Greg had to hold back a chuckle as Nick's face reddened slightly. "Oh, thank you, ma'am. But they're not ours, this is our niece, Winny," the dark-haired toddler chirped an excited 'hi!', effectively making Mrs. Thompson's smile widen. "And this is our nephew, DJ."

DJ stepped forward and politely nodded to the elderly woman, giving a faint 'hello, ma'am' before taking his place back on the stoop next to Greg.

"Oh, what darling children, they are!" Mrs. Thompson praised. "Tell me, Nicholas… when do you and Gregory plan on having a few little ones of your own, hmm? I have the most beautiful granddaughter who'd be just delighted to act as a surrogate mother…"

Now Greg really couldn't hold back his chuckle. He stepped forward and set a wrist-banded hand on his partner's shoulder supportively, hoping to steer the woman's attention away from Nick's blushing face. "Someday, Mrs. Thompson. Someday. We'll definitely let you know." The younger man smiled charmingly.

"Wonderful! It's always nice to see a few little tots running around the neighborhood. Children love cats, you know." the old cat lady proclaimed, then began dispersing a few candies into her guest's bags with a happy smile on her jaunty, wrinkled face.

"Kitty, kitty, kitty!" Winny cried and tried to climb out of Nick's arms, clamoring to get at the puffy cat at Mrs. Thompson's feet, the candy in her bucket thoroughly forgotten; but the haughty animal was completely unfazed by the little girl's shrieks of joy.

-- -- --

It was well passed the kid's bedtime when they finally got back to the house, Nick was still carrying Winny in his arms, but the tiny girl dressed as a Care Bear had fallen fast asleep an hour before. DJ, on the other hand, was talking animatedly with Greg, in between sleepy yawns, about what it was like to be a real, live CSI.

"So, you and Uncle Nicky get to see real dead bodies every day?!" The Texan boy drawled, sleep-filled eyes wide and sparkling.

Greg laughed and started to take off the hot, black wrist bands from his arms; he rubbed at the irritated skin before answering. "Sorta. Your Uncle Nick and I sure have seen our share of dead bodies, yeah. But that's not the coolest part."

"Really? What could be cooler than that?" DJ asked, his tone incredulous.

"Well, the coolest part of the job for me and Uncle Nick, is finding out who did it. That way, we know the bad guy will be going to jail for a long, long time and won't be able to hurt anyone ever again. That's the most rewarding aspect of being a CSI." Greg said proudly as he took the rubber gloves his nephew was handing up to him.

DJ seemed to think about that for a moment, then shrugged. "Meh, I still think dead bodies are pretty sweet. Especially when they're all bloody and gory like the zombies in those movies!" As was the mind of a 10-year-old boy.

"Alright, time for bed, DJ." Nick poked his head into the living room, trying hard not to wake Winny, who was still asleep on his chest, her little body rising and falling as she breathed. Nick couldn't help but smile down at the sleeping toddler.

The couple knew Nick's sister and brother-in-law wouldn't be home for a few more hours, at least, and they'd already promised Marissa they would put the kids to bed by a decent hour. While it was still a good two hours after what Marissa would consider decent, Nick was sure she'd understand anyway; the kids had fun and Nick knew his sister would be appreciative of that.

"Okay, Uncle Nicky," DJ yawned, his eyes had started to droop a long time ago, but Greg could tell the kid was really starting to feel exhaustion come over him when he nearly nodded off in the middle of removing his 'bloody' lab coat and handed it to the chair instead of Greg. "Night, Uncle Greg. Thanks for talkin' me into goin' trick-or-treatin'. I had a lot of fun." he smiled sleepily.

"No problem, little dude. G'night, sleep tight." Greg hugged the blue-eyed boy tightly and then scooted him in the direction of Nick and the stairs.

But before Greg could even sit down and relax, he heard his name being called from the landing above. "Story time, Uncle Greg!"

-- -- --

"Sorry, babe," Nick greeted his partner from the guest bedroom doorway. He explained how he'd just laid the kids down in bed when Winny awoke and decided she wanted a story. "And she insists you tell it."

Greg gave Nick a _but-I-don't-know-any-kid-stories _look before admitting defeat and walking into the smaller room. He sat down on the bed next to his giggling niece and reached out a hand to stroke her baby soft, chestnut brown hair. "A story, huh?"

"Yup." the little girl responded, nodding her head up and down.

"Okay, well…" Greg began. "Once upon a time, there was a pirate,"

"Was he a mean piwate?" Winny asked her story teller.

Greg smiled down at the toddler and shook his head slowly. "Nope. He was the nicest pirate on the whole sea. But he was a very lonely pirate, because all of his other pirate friends were boring and only wanted to work, work, work." Greg made a funny face that elicited a small giggle from the smallest Stokes grandchild.

"But then, one day the pirate decided to go ashore. And on land he met a smart, funny rockstar who made beautiful music with his guitar," Greg played a little airguitar for the girl and Winny clapped her hands in amusement, the cute smile never leaving her baby face as she listened to her uncle continue with the tall tale.

From the doorway, Nick listened to his partner's silly story and couldn't help but smile. To anyone else, it wouldn't have made much sense, but to a three-year-old girl and a grown man with the boundless imagination of a seven-year-old, it made all the sense in the world. He continued to watch Greg and Winny interact, to listen to Greg's story, and suddenly everything just fell into place; if there was any doubt in his mind before that this would be the man he'd spend the rest of his life with, it wasn't there now.

"And they lived happily ever after. The end." Greg concluded. He watched as Winny's eyes drifted closed and her breathing became shallow, then he bent down and set a light kiss to her forehead. "Night-night, babygirl." he whispered.

When he'd successfully tucked the little girl in, Greg looked up to see Nick still standing in the doorway. His arms crossed casually over his chest and his body leaned against the doorjamb, waiting for Greg.

"That was really somethin'." Nick commented, reaching out his hand to his partner. Greg took it with a smile as they walked towards their shared bedroom, totally unawares of what was going through Nick's mind at that moment.

"Ah, it was nothing, really. Just… me pulling stuff out of thin air again. Not like it's the first time." Greg said.

"Not just the story, G. The way you handled those kids today. You were so good with DJ, earlier. Helping him throw together a costume like that, talkin' him into going out trick-or-treatin'. And then the way you were in there with Winny." Nick closed the door behind them and pulled his partner close, setting a real, loving kiss to Greg's lips. "You're a natural daddy."

Greg's eyes twinkled at the words. He'd always wanted to be a daddy, and the fact that Nick thought he'd be a good one, it meant the world to him. "You really think so? Well, from the way you were lugging little Funshine bear around tonight, keeping 'em in line, I'd say you'd make a pretty good dad, too."

"Or a pack mule." Nick snorted.

When they'd climbed in bed, finally able to tangle around each other after the long day, Greg entwined his hand in Nick's and asked, "So, you really think you'd want to have a kid with me?"

"Definitely, it's a wonderful dream. Hopefully, someday soon… which doesn't mean tomorrow," He added when he saw the excited look on Greg's face. "We can make it a reality."

"I know, I know." the younger man rolled his eyes playfully. "But we're no spring chickens, Nicholas. What do you think this sperm's just gonna wait forever?! And, man, I've seen Mrs. Thompson's granddaughter… she is pretty hot. We could make some beeeeautiful babies together."

"Oh, ya think so do ya?" Nick pounced his lover jokingly, setting a bunch of little kisses all over Greg's face and neck before turning serious once more. "I thought you wanted to adopt."

"I do. But I also think it'd be kind of nice to have at least one that's biologically yours or mine. Not that it would make a difference. We'd love them all just the same." he amended quickly.

"Absolutely." Nick readily agreed. "Wow, it's scary enough just thinking about raising one child, but… more than one? You really think we could handle that, G?"

"Definitely." Greg smiled up at his beautiful, strong, amazing man. "I think we'd like so totally rock at parenthood." he declared in his best rockstar voice.

Nick only smiled and shook his head in mock indignation. "Goof. I sincerely hope our little Dallas doesn't end up with your screwy sense of humor."

"Dallas?!" Greg sputtered, rolling over quickly to take in his partner's expression; trying to decide whether Nick was serious about the potential future name. "You'd name your child after a _city_? Think about that, Nick."

"Of course, he's gonna be a Cowboys fan after all. Might as well start 'em out young. I think it'd make him feel… special amoungst his peers." The proud Texan grinned from ear to ear, he loved teasing Greg, the other man always seemed to get so worked up over things. "Why? What name did you have planned?"

Greg thought for a moment, still a little spun from hearing Nick's eccentric choice in moniker. "Arabica." he stated with proud finality.

Nick couldn't hold the laughter from bubbling out of his mouth in that instant. "G…" he said in between gasps of air. "We… are not naming… out firstborn… after… coffee beans."

"Says you." Greg smirked and left his hyena-esque partner in a fit of laughter as he drifted off into a comfortable, dream-filled sleep.

THE END

* * *

A/N: As always, reviews are love. So leave some love for The Love. :) 


End file.
